Guardian Angel
by strawberry-e
Summary: Natasha Romanoff never believed in angels or heaven or God, but when her best friend is left hurting after another supernatural mission's attack, she will find out that love is not only for children and angels really do exist - hence the fact that even she can have one just for herself... Clint x Natasha, Tony x Pepper, Bruce x OC, Thor x whomever you like xD


**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own any of the Marvel heroes. **** But that's ok for now, when I finally take over the world they WILL be mine anyway *muahaha***

And now, on with the story :D Enjoy!

* * *

_Natasha Romanoff never believed in Angels or God._

She didn't believe in Demons and Satan either, or any other form of supernatural. Heck, she didn't even believe in heroes and the good will of man. The only thing she believed in was herself. And the only thing the woman also known as Natalia Romanova - or the **Black Widow** - knew was that she had to kill in order to survive or be killed and lose. That was her life since she could remember. That was what she was good at, the only way she could imagine her life being. And thus, all she could do was ignore the nightmares; the tossing and turning, the screams, the cries and the tears running down her face when she was alone. The **faces** haunting her and the constant image of the _blood on her hands_…

It all changed slowly when she met _**Clint Barton**_, the _Hawkeye_, and he saved her from the darkness within herself. She didn't show it, but the woman was terrified at first. The only thing that calmed her was the fact that, while something in her changed and she was afraid of this, it still changed for the _**better**_.

_Natasha Romanoff didn't believe in Angels or God, but the events taking place in her life should teach her the opposite really soon…_

* * *

After Barton recruited her to S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha had to face the fact that there really existed inhuman things – _supernatural_ things - in this world. Black Widow was dumbfounded, Natalia couldn't believe her eyes and Natasha… Natasha didn't know what to think, what to do. But Clint (the only one who was like her, who _felt_ like her, who _understood her even better than she understood herself_) helped her and was there for her and, over time, he became the one constant in her life she furiously held onto, the one she needed in order to feel calm and happy; her best friend, her _**everything**_…

So when they recruited Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and met a real **God** from Asgard! – Natasha just shrugged and accepted it as another mission in her more than crazy, un-normal life. Even the fight against Loki and the Chitauri startled her only slightly. When they finally defeated these crazy aliens that wanted to destroy the world, she was happy that it was finally over. So hopefully there weren't any threats in the near future. But being a top spy and assassin and part of the **Avengers**, Natasha knew that there would always be strange missions and supernatural beings she had to fight against or befriend. The life of a hero never was anything but exiting and with Clint at her side (thankfully free of Loki and kicking ass again) she would enjoy every second of it.

* * *

The next mission was three months after the **big battle** in New York. Thankfully, Thor was over for a visit when Fury called them to Manhattan for an emergency, so the Avengers were complete when they arrived in Hell's Kitchen (_what a fitting name_, she would later recognize sarcastically).

It was a mess like no other, only the big battle had been that bad. Natasha inwardly puked as she saw what exactly they would be facing. Before her, strange black things ran around. They were 4'9'' tall and covered in some black, slimy substance that smelled horribly and clung to anything they touched with their filthy shovel-like hands which ended in three sharp claws. They looked like gnomes, with eerie red eyes and big flat noses and the noises they made – screams that sounded like chalk scraping over a blackboard – unnerved the redheaded assassin in a matter of seconds. She wanted to kill these pieces of scum and she wanted to do it quick and painful.

"What the hell are these things?" Bruce voiced everyone's question. "They are some lower demons that were sent from hell," a dark but familiar voice answered them. They turned to look at Nick Fury who had just executed one of the filthy demons. He looked at Hawkeye with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I had to drag them into it, but this is way too much for one person… especially because there are more to come," he defended himself. "The thing is: some crazy, obsessed banker wanted to summon and make a pact with a demon in order to gain even more wealth – but, of course, the summoning went out of hand and thus opened a gateway through which demons try to get to earth. Our mission is to save the innocent people," he shot a monster that got too close to the group, "destroy the demons and close the portal before more of these filthy things or – even worse – more powerful demons can arrive. Got it?" The teammates nodded and, like sharing one mind, moved out to kill the creatures.

Everything went great and smooth until (_of course_) something just **had to** go wrong. It started with a light shake, nothing they recognized or acknowledged in the heat of battle. But when the shaking got worse and the earth under their feet trembled as if an earthquake ripped through Manhattan, they knew something was _really_ not right. They only looked around for some seconds when they saw a giant black cloud of smoke appearing in the distance. In that second the little demons stopped fighting, let out their terrifying scream, and ran in the direction of the cloud. "**Shit!**" was all they heard leaving Hawkeyes mouth before he took off in the same direction. Irritated, the rest of the Avengers followed him.

When they arrived at Lincoln Square they had to catch their breaths, but all air left their lungs the moment the black cloud disappeared. Because - standing right in front of them – was the personification of bad things that could happen just like in Fury's sentence from before…

* * *

This …_thing_ was monstrous! It was as black as the deepest parts of the universe, looked like some kind of dragon fused with a demon out of the bible – with red eyes and two big, twisted horns on its forehead and claws as sharp as razors and a long tail that swished from side to side (Natasha knew that her mind was rambling now) - and was just as big as the Chitauri's Leviathans had been. The Black Widow's eyes were glued to the monster and its presence was emitting such cold and pain and hatred that (dare she think it) not only one, but several chills ran down her spine. The feelings made her remember a time long ago; a time when she felt only these kind of feelings, a time before _**Clint**_ saved her from the **monster** that _she_ really was… Natasha hated to admit it, but this beast downright scared her.

She sensed Hawkeye tensing beside her, just like all the other Avengers did at the sight of the beast. "Does anyone have a strategy for this?" Tony asked his fellow teammates. Clint and Fury exchanged looks, neither saying anything but you could feel that the silent conversation between them was meaningful. Fury sighed and turned his head to the monster again. "You win," was all he said. Barton grinned. Suddenly, Nick Fury was moving in front of the team and stared at everyone. "Ok, guys, here's the plan: Hawkeye will distract the demon while the rest of us run back to Columbus Circle, make an opening for the civilians to escape and try to destroy the portal. Got it?" His eye bore into the ones of the other Avengers, challenging them to disobey him. Knowing that Black Widow – and more importantly _Natasha Romanoff_ – wasn't going to like this idea, his eye stayed on her the longest. She glared at him and was about to open her mouth, when she caught Hawkeyes glance. His eyes, always so soft when looking at her, were determined and she knew that instant that there was no way she could stop her best friend. Grudgingly, she let out a defeated sigh and nodded her head, red curls flying around her face. The team turned on their heels and ran down the street.

* * *

"Are you sure…?" Natasha, who had secretly stayed behind, asked Clint as she lightly touched his arm and looked worriedly at the man. She knew that with him, the bad things called feelings came out (curse this damn vulnerability) and she also knew that he could see every emotion in her eyes. He smiled reassuringly at her and hugged the woman's body to his own, stroking her hair and planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Don't worry, Tasha, I know what I'm doing. You go and help save the people. Tony needs someone to keep him in line," he added with a chuckle. Despite the worry (no, fear - bone-chilling, ugly **fear** searing through her veins) she had to laugh at this. Clint really was her best friend; he just knew how to make her laugh even in the shittiest of situations. He released her and gave her a reassuring smile. Just for the tiniest of seconds her heart did this weird clenching thingy she sometimes felt when being around Clint Barton. "Now go," he said while pushing her lightly in the direction the others were.

As she started to run, Natasha couldn't help but look behind her from time to time and watch the form of Clint getting smaller and more distant the farther she moved away. The last thing she saw before rounding a corner was of Hawkeye adjusting an arrow on his bow and calmly walking towards the monster. "It's going to be alright, we survived things even worse than this. It's going to be alright…" she chanted in her head while shooting open a lock so that the people trapped in the bus could escape. But while furiously fighting these disgusting gnome-like creatures, the sickness in her stomach wouldn't leave her alone. And soon, Natasha Romanoff would find out _why_ exactly…

* * *

They did it. They really fucking did it!

Black Widow took a look around herself. All around her, the dead bodies of the gnome thingies and piles over piles over piles of rubble lay around on the deserted streets. The Avengers had managed to evacuate the townspeople and kill all the enemies and close this damn portal to God-knows-where-in-hell-it-ended without any losses on their part. She walked over to her teammates (comrades, _friends_) and let out a tired smile as she watched Thor giving part of his cloak to Bruce – who was stark naked, _again_ – and Tony bickering with Steve just like any other day. Nick Fury stood next to them with a smile just as tired as Romanoff's. "Whew, that was a nice stroll through the park, wasn't it?" she commented with sarcasm, pointing behind her to the slightly destroyed part of Central Park they had fought before. The others looked at her form - bruised and littered with bleeding cuts in various sizes, but still beautiful - and laughed. "Yes, it definitely was," Thor spoke up, "But shouldn't we pick up our _kompis_ Clint to celebrate together?" "**Ёшкин свет**, Clint!" Natasha shouted. She had totally forgotten Hawkeye (_Clint, her __**best friend and the man she…**_) in the midst of the fight. But now, running alongside her comrades she remembered: she remembered his embrace, his light kiss on her hair, his form getting smaller and smaller as she ran from him and … _**he towards the gigantic, fear inflicting beast**_. Now, Natasha Romanoff was _afraid_. She only ran faster down the street, the others hot on her heels.

* * *

When they entered the street they left Clint in, the only thing they felt was a wave of relief washing through their bodies when they saw the master archer and assassin sitting on a car that had been upturned in the fierce battle, facing them and looking very alive. Around him, the Street looked like hell (no pun intended): the thankfully deserted buildings crumbled around them, half of them already lying on the street. Big chunks were missing in some (probably where the demon had slammed into) and all the cars and street lamps and benches and so on were either crushed or lay around several yards from where they were before. The dead body of the demon lay in the middle of the street, right behind where Clint was sitting, and started to decay already.

When Clint noticed the bruised but otherwise fairly healthy heroes coming his way, he too smiled at them, fatigued but relieved nonetheless. "Damn, Legolas, how the hell did you take on this thing _**alone**_?!" Tony shouted with a hint of mischief but even more fascination and admiration in his voice. Clint only continued smiling. When the team almost reached him, he stood up and went to meet them on their way, but he just managed three steps before groaning and falling to his knees. The other heroes's brows clenched in confusion and worry. Then Clint's face contorted into a mask of pure agony and, closing his eyes, he fell forward onto the hard concrete. "_**Clint**_!" Natasha shouted in alarm and rushed to his body. She carefully lifted his head and put it in her lap so that his face was looking to the left. Fury plopped down next to her and scanned the man's body for the cause of his blackout and pain. And when he and the other Avengers gasped, Natasha saw them too.

There were five of them. Five long gashes that sliced Clint's whole back from his neck down to his tailbone. They were raw, they were deep, they bled and they were full of this black slime that all the demons emitted. But while every one of the others had come into contact with the slime and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, Clint's wounds were festering and etching and it was a disgusting smell and even more gruesome sight to behold. Tears formed in Natasha's eyes and she didn't do anything to hide them. She didn't even have the strength to, because all that ran through her head was that Clint was hurting, **bad**, and she didn't know what to do about it. I mean, let's face it: who out of them would have experience in healing a wound inflicted by demons?! And more importantly, who had a medicine against a demon's – by the looks of it – toxic? She had gotten her best friend back from the worst brainwash _ever_ just three months ago, she couldn't lose him because of this now! Natasha had to admit that she was desperate, and so she let the tears flow…

* * *

"We have to move him this instant."

Fury's words startled the other heroes. "W..what?" Tony asked in confusion. "You heard me. We have to bring him to a place where he gets medical attention, so would you please move your sorry asses and help me?" Nick asked irritated. That brought all of them back to their senses. Fury was right, they had to help Clint or they would lose one of their best heroes and closest friends. Thor and Steve went to Hawkeye's limp body and crouched down at his feet and head. Slowly and carefully they picked him up from the ground, watching out not to let any dirt come to his wounds. "Where to?" Steve wanted to know, and again, Fury's sentence surprised them (and made them _slightly_ question his sanity, if they were honest).

"We go to the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. It's only some streets away."

* * *

The moment they finally arrived at their destination, Fury ran to the gigantic front doors and pushed them open. The two heroes carrying Clint went inside, the others following close behind. Inside the church it was silent and a sense of comfort filled the Avenger's hearts, making them hope that their fellow friend will be saved and healthy after all. At that moment, the priest of the church stepped through a side door and everyone froze for a moment.

When the man saw the bruised body of Hawkeye, he gasped and rushed to the heroes. Natasha was about to shove this stranger away from her Clint, when Fury gestured her to try it and risk being hit severely by the founder of the Avengers. She hated other people touching and probably hurting her broken friend, but she knew that Nick Fury was a power to behold and be afraid of, so she suppressed the feeling.

The priest took a look at the deep, etching wounds on Clint's back and his eyes filled with worry. But when he crouched down to look at the poor man's face, he did a double take backwards. "Cindoruk?!" he gasped and his voice was dripping with disbelief and dread. The heroes were again left stunned and wondering what the hell had been going on this whole day. Only now did they realize that Nick and Clint knew something, something they had always hid from the others. They… they knew what had been going on today; they knew about demons and how to fight them. What else did they know that – for them -wasn't worth mentioning to the others?

* * *

"The poison has spread too wide in his blood to be erased with holy water," the priest's voice filled the church and echoed from the walls, "I can't help him anymore. I…" He was interrupted by Bruce. "What do you mean, he can't be healed? Why not? And were you even able to help him from the beginning?" the scientist asked, getting angrier with every question but not enough to go berserk on them. "Please calm down, Mr. Banner. This is a place of silence and peace and not of anger and war. And yes, I would have been able to help Mr. Barton if I were at his side the moment he was injured, but it is too long ago and the poison has inflicted too much damage in his body to make my humble aids work anymore. He needs stronger power," the priest deflected Bruce's verbal attack and magically calmed the Hulk along the way. "Where do we find it? We need to do everything that's in our power to save our friend," Steve opined. The churchman sighed and looked at the big cross that hung over the altar. "There is only one way to save Cindoruk. He needs to go _home_…"

"And how are we going to do this? We don't know where to find proper treatment for our _kompis_, let alone know where his home is," Thor stated the obvious. They looked at Natasha but she shook her head in shame. Not even she knew where Clint came from; all he ever told her about it was that it was a beautiful place that he missed very much and that he had the fondest memories of it. Not even Tony had managed to find any source of information on Hawkeye – and he had a super computer with the newest technologies, dammit!

The Avengers turned their heads back to the priest and their leader, who were about to put everything off the altar. The moment it was accomplished, Nick gestured for Thor and Steve to gently lay Clint on it, his back now laying on the marble surface. They didn't understand why the hell Nick arranged this, but seeing as he was the only one out of them who seemed to know what he was doing and what needed to be done, they let it slip …at least this time. Nick told them to stand around the altar and they did as they were asked. The priest took a stance some feet away from them and crossed himself. He went down on his knees, looking up to the Jesus made out of metal and murmuring strange things in Latin. Natasha tried to listen in on his words as he recited something and crossed himself for some minutes. When she finally heard enough to piece together the man's words, her facial expression made a slip. "An incantation?!" she shrieked in disbelief and her friends looked just as baffled at her outburst and the meaning of it, but it was already too late.

Blinding white light engulfed them as some power took the heroes away…

* * *

Natasha felt like she was falling up and down at the same time. Even if the logical part of her brain told her this wasn't physically possible, her vestibular system and the nausea in her stomach told her something completely different. She couldn't hear anything or see anything, so she had no idea if she was screaming and if her teammates were still with her. As quick as the light appeared to kidnap them …_somewhere_… it was gone. And thankfully it took the damn queasiness with it. Slowly coming back to her senses, Natasha noticed that her eyes were indeed closed. The sounds of her friends groaning and trying to stand up caught her attention. "Wait a min… Standing up? We already stood mere seconds ago, didn't we?" her thoughts questioned. But it was true none the less. The woman, too, could now feel that she sat on something soft, something resembling grass. Panic rose in the pit of her stomach, but she battled it down quickly. Now was not the time to give into her feelings, Clint needed her and she would be damned if something as dumb as her panic stood in the way of his recovery.

Groaning slightly, she opened her eyes. She saw Tony first, sitting on his ass and rubbing his head in pain. His visor was up and the man's complexion did look a little bit on the green side. The redhead had to chuckle at that. Thor stood on his feet, but he barely managed to stand upright for his balance was still slightly off. Steve, too, was barely standing, using his shield as some kind of crutch while trying to help Bruce up at the same time. It would only be a matter of seconds before the two would fall on the ground again, but whatever – at least _they_ already tried. This gave Natasha the final impulse to stand up as well. She managed to crouch after ten seconds and stood shakily on her feet after one minute and five failed attempts at getting up completely. The moment everyone was halfway back to their senses, they noticed that Hawkeye still lay on the ground. He was pale (paler than Natasha remembered him seeing – not even back when he was shot through the thigh in Sao Paulo) and hadn't moved a millimeter since his fall. But the most shocking part was that his chest almost didn't rise and fall anymore. He was close to death. They had to hurry!

"Don't worry guys. Now that we are here, his chances at making it through it alive are 75% higher than before. And we all know that Clint is a tough little bastard. He will do it," Fury spoke. He stood in front of Clint's body and examined the man with a small smile and assurance in his eyes. Natalia wondered how Fury was so sure, but Natasha didn't question it. She had to hope, at least for once in her life.

* * *

"No swearing words here, Nick. You know the rules," a voice as soft as a breeze and as melodious as a harp lightly chided the leader of the Avengers. His only response was to look over the heroes shoulders and grinning – downright _**grinning**_ – at the person there. The rest was startled and had no other choice but to look for the person with this incredible voice as well. The remaining Avengers turned around and …their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe this; it was not possible, it **could not** be possible! But the sight in front of them didn't disappear…

They were on a hill with lush green grass that swayed lightly in the wind. At the bottom of the hill, there was a town. A town with white houses and streets plastered with white stones. In the distance, a white dome with golden ornaments glistered in the midday's sun. Green plants and big trees were everywhere; all in all it was a breathtakingly beautiful sight to behold. Natasha couldn't believe it would get even stranger, but then came the real shock.

In front of them were people, men and women alike, and they looked expectantly at the group of heroes. These residents wore plain white clothes: the men having white pants or shorts and white shirts, while the women wore skirts or dresses instead. The person who had spoken to them just moments ago was a beautiful young female, wearing a strapless dress made out of silk and tulle. At the front, the dress ended at her mid-thighs while it reached the back of her knee on the backside. Golden embroidering and jewelry glittered lightly in the warm sun's rays, lovely complimenting the woman's honey-colored eyes. Her hair was at least 21'' long, had the perfect shade of strawberry blonde and fell down her back in soft curls you only had after just stepping out of the coiffeur's . All in all, this girl looked like she just walked out of a fashion magazine (and, after an exact inspection, _all_ the people here did!).

That wouldn't have been a problem in the slightest; on earth you found a lot of good looking people. No, the thing that let the Avenger's minds shut down completely was the set of unearthly, beautiful white wings that were neatly folded on the girl's sides.

"Welcome in Eden, Avengers, I hope you had a safe journey," the young woman – birdy … _angel_? – said and greeted them with a smile that could make even stone weep at its simple perfection. "Where are we?" Bruce's question broke the silence. The girl let her gaze rest on him and her smile softened even more.

"You are in Heaven," was her melodic reply. A deep silence fell over the people gathered. Then everything went black.

* * *

Yay, I finally managed to complete the chapter! *happy dance*

I hope you enjoy the story so far. If something is confusing you or you'd like to point out some mistakes to me, I'm all ears. I appreciate every help I can get, seeing that I'm German and thus English isn't my mother tongue ^^°

kompis = friend (Swedish)

Ёшкин свет! = Shit! (Russian)

Hopefully, until next time! :)

Strawberry-e


End file.
